How to write a reconsideration request for Google

Most rejected requests are sent too early. Google is clear on this: fix the issue on all affected pages, because fixing just some of them won't earn a partial return to search results. If you have more than one manual action, fix all of them.

Before you send anything, you should be able to say yes to all of these:

• You know exactly which manual action you have, and which part of the site it covers.
• You've found every affected page. The report shows patterns of affected pages, and not every page in a pattern is always affected, so check each one rather than guessing.
• Every fix is live on the real site, not planned, not on staging.
• Google can reach the affected pages. Google's help says they shouldn't need a login, sit behind a paywall, or be blocked by robots.txt or a noindex directive. You can test this with the URL Inspection tool.
• You've checked the fixes yourself after release.
• You have a record of what changed, with counts.

If any of those is a no, wait. A rushed request that gets rejected costs you more time than a week of extra checking.

If Google issues a manual action, it tells you in two places: the Manual Actions report and the message center in Search Console. The report also keeps a history of past manual actions on the site.

In Search Console, open Security & Manual Actions, then Manual actions. Expand the action to see the type, a short description and the affected page patterns. When every issue listed in the report is fixed on every page, select Request Review in the same report and describe your fixes.

If you've recently bought the site and the problem came before you, fix it anyway, then say in the request that you recently acquired the site and that it no longer breaks the policies.

Google's Manual Actions report help page says a good request does three things:

1. Explains the exact quality issue on your site
2. Describes the steps you've taken to fix the issue
3. Documents the outcome of your efforts

For thin content actions, the same page also asks you to give examples of bad content you removed and good content you added.

Everything below is a way of doing those things clearly.

Write it as a repair record. Plain sentences, short paragraphs, no marketing language.

1. The action and its scope. Name the action as Google named it, and the part of the site it covers.
2. What caused it. One or two honest sentences. No excuses, no blame.
3. How you found every affected page. The method: crawl, sitemaps, Search Console, your own page data. This shows you checked every page in the patterns, not just a few.
4. What you changed. By page type or template, with counts. Improved, merged and redirected, or removed (410 or noindex). List removed pages separately from the pages you improved.
5. Examples. A few pages you removed and a few you improved or added, so the reviewer can see the difference.
6. Exceptions. Anything you kept, and why it's now worth keeping.
7. What stops it happening again. New publishing rules, review steps, template changes.
8. How Google can check. Where to look, and example URLs for each type of change.

Link to a shared document with the full detail (URL lists, before and after examples) if it helps. Keep the request itself readable.

Use this as a shape, not a script. Swap in your own facts.

Action: Thin content with little or no added value, affecting the scope named in your notice.

Cause: Name the template or section that produced the thin pages, how many, and what they repeated or lacked.

How we found every affected page: We crawled the full site, compared it with our sitemaps and Search Console data, and grouped every URL by template. We checked every page in the patterns listed in the report.

What we changed:

• Template A: improved the pages, with what you added (original information, author and reviewer details, sources) and how many.
• Template B: merged pages into fewer, stronger pages, with 301 redirects, and how many.
• Template C: removed pages with a 410, and how many.

Examples: Three pages removed and three improved, with links.

Exceptions: What you kept and why.

Prevention: The new rules for creating pages on these templates.

How to check: Example URLs for each change, and a link to the full URL list.

On YMYL sites, such as health or finance, also say what you changed to show who stands behind the content: authors, reviewers, sources, editorial policy and contact details.

Action: Unnatural links to your site.

Cause: How the links came about.

How we found them: The link sources you used and how each link was reviewed.

What we changed: How many sites you contacted and how many links were removed, and which domains you disavowed where removal wasn't possible. Link to the outreach record.

Prevention: What changed in how you earn links.

How to check: Link to the disavow summary and outreach log.

Keep this ready even if you don't link all of it:

• The full list of affected URLs, grouped by template, with the action taken on each
• Before and after examples for each template
• Release dates for each fix
• Your own crawl after release, showing the fixes are live
• URL Inspection checks showing Google can reach the affected pages
• Counts that match what you wrote in the request

If your numbers in the request don't match what Google finds on the site, that's a problem. Check them twice.

Common reasons, from Google's guidance and from what practitioners report:

• Only some affected pages were fixed. Google says partial fixes don't earn a partial return.
• Only one of several manual actions was dealt with.
• Fixes were planned, not live.
• Google couldn't reach the affected pages to check them, because of a login, paywall, robots.txt block or noindex.
• The request was vague: "we improved our content" without saying what, where or how much.
• The request was full of apologies and promises, with little evidence.
• The site still produces new pages with the same problem.
• On YMYL sites, the trust signals were still missing.

A rejection is information. Treat it as the next round, not the end.

1. Read the reply closely. Note any new example URLs. They often point to the template you missed.
2. Go back to the inventory. Look for page types you didn't assess, or ones you assessed too kindly.
3. Fix, release and check again. Same standard as the first round.
4. Write a new request. Say what's changed since the last one. Don't resend the old text with edits.

On large sites, expect more than one round. Plan for it from the start, so a rejection doesn't stall the work.

Google's help says most reconsideration reviews can take several days or weeks, and some, such as link-related requests, can take longer. You'll get an email when Google receives your request and another when the review is complete. Don't send another request while one is still open. Wait for the decision.

The fix usually takes far longer than the review, which is another reason not to rush.

How do I submit a manual action reconsideration request? In Search Console, go to Security & Manual Actions, then Manual actions. Once every issue in the report is fixed on every affected page, select Request Review and describe your fixes.

Do I need to apologise? You don't need to grovel. A short, honest line about what went wrong is fine. Evidence matters far more than tone.

Can I send more than one request? Yes, if the first is rejected. Don't resubmit while a review is still open. Make each new request better than the last, with new fixes behind it.

Can I just noindex the thin pages? Be careful. Google's help says affected pages shouldn't be blocked by robots.txt or a noindex directive, so Google can check them. Improving, merging or removing pages gives the reviewer something to check. In the reconsideration request, list the pages you removed (410 or noindex) separately from the pages you improved. Pages you put forward as fixed must stay crawlable: no noindex, robots.txt block or login.

What if all our content is unique? Unique isn't the same as useful. Google's thin content guidance asks whether your site provides significant added value for users, not just whether the words appear anywhere else.

I bought the site with the action already on it. What now? Fix the issues, then say in the request that you recently acquired the site and that it no longer breaks the policies. Google's help covers this case.

Can I remove a manual action without a request? No. Only Google can revoke a manual action, and it does that after reviewing your site. The request is how you ask for that review. If the site no longer breaks Google's spam policies, Google revokes the action.

How long does a manual action last? Plan on fixing it, not waiting it out. The route Google's help describes is to fix the issue and request a review. The review usually takes days or weeks (see "How long does Google take to review a request?" above). The fix is what takes the time.

Does traffic come back as soon as the action is revoked? Don't count on it. Revoking the action means Google no longer holds your pages back for that issue. After that, your pages compete on their merits like any other site's. That's why the fix should leave the pages genuinely better, not just compliant.

Should I hire someone to write it? The writing is the smaller part. If you need help, get it with finding every affected page and checking the fixes, not with the wording.

• Need help with the fix itself? Google penalty recovery
• Already rejected? A rejection review reads your notice and past requests and tells you what has to change. Book a rejection review
• Check your own pages first with THINN, the free thin page checker.